I am writing a long post about internet community spaces, and I went
looking on the wayback machine to see the old page I wrote about Usenet.
I'm gonna put it here to refer to.

Usenet

Better minds than mine have worked on explaining what Usenet is;
I'll just tell you that to me it feels like the best mix of discussion,
information, and (though I can feel some people rolling their eyes when
I say this) community available via the internet. It's a way for a
solitary person like
me to have real, substantive contact with intelligent, articulate people
every day.

One thing I like about Usenet is that it gives a pretty good idea of what
I think and
feel, since I talk about everything there. You can even look
at my Usenet postings if you're so inclined.

My newsgroups

(If you click on the name of the newsgroup, you will be taken to the group
itself, if your browser supports that kind of thing. I have made an
effort to include links to the FAQ of each group, if I know it, and to
describe a little about what I think you can expect there.)

alt.polyamory: Alt.poly, one of my two
"home" newsgroups, is for people who are open to the idea of having more
than one love in their lives, or, really, for anyone who wants to discuss
relationships. There are several monogamous people who post at alt.poly,
and we like it that way. This is NOT a swingers' group. Poly is
about honesty in multi-partner relationships, which do not always include
sex. Plus the people (most of us) are really nice and funny. The
alt.poly homepage and FAQ are at www.polyamory.org.

soc.bi: My other home group. I adore the
people, and it's just the right mix of fluff and flame for me most of the
time. One does not have to be bi to enjoy this newsgroup. The soc.bi FAQ
can be found at this address.

soc.women.lesbian-and-bi
(SWLAB): A sharp, (sometimes bitingly so) witty bunch of women who in
my years there have discussed topics whose range is so diverse that it
seems silly for me to try to list them here. The newsgroup is sometimes
moderate-to-high-volume, but as I write this in May of 2001, it's very
low-volume. SWLAB is moderated, and the moderation policy and FAQ are at
this address.

alt.shoe.lesbians.moderated:
Shoe is back on Usenet, yay! This is a fun and supportive group of
lesbian and bi women. The moderation policy and FAQ are at this address.

soc.sexuality.general: This is a
moderated newsgroup on the topic of sexuality. It's a good place to find
serious discussion of issues related to sex and sexuality. I didn't have
any luck on a websearch for the FAQ, but I'll post them as soon as I know
where they are.

soc.support.fat-acceptance.moderated:
Finally, a moderated group for the size-acceptance
crowd. There are several FAQ lists for the group; you can usually find
them here.

soc.motss: MOTSS stands for "members of the
same sex." This high-volume newsgroup defies description, as the
discussions are as varied in content and tone as any I've participated in.
Here -- read the FAQ; maybe
that'll help.